Article feeder and spacer

ABSTRACT

A feeder for orienting and aligning disorderly incoming items includes a rotatable table having a peripheral wall and a discharge opening in the peripheral wall, the discharge opening allowing the items in a predetermined orientation to be successively withdrawn from the rotatable table in a single file line, the rotatable table being fed with disorderly items; a first carrier disposed proximate to the discharge opening, the first carrier recovering the oriented items exiting through the discharge opening; and an item spacer mounted proximate to the first carrier, the item spacer providing a predetermined spacing between two consecutive oriented items. It also relates to a method for doing same.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______filed on Apr. 29, 2005.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1) Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a feeder for orienting blocks from a disorderlyblock supply and, more particularly, it relates to a feeder fororienting and aligning blocks in combination with a block spacer.

2) Description of the Prior Art

Rotary disk feeders are commonly used for orienting and aligning itemsfrom a disorderly bulk supply, mainly in the food industry (See forinstance U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,224,554; 5,044,487; and 5,065,852). Typicallythey include a disk turning about its axis and are designed to receivethe product to be aligned in bulk. The rotary disk is surrounded by aperipheral wall which has a discharge aperture substantially tangentialto the peripheral wall. The items oriented and aligned are dischargedthrough the discharge aperture in a single file.

These rotary tables perform well for uniformly sized and mostly shortand uniform length items. However, the performance of these rotarytables with blocks having different lengths and/or with relative longitems are often inadequate. Several problems typically occur such asblocks wedging at the discharge because the items are pilled on top ofeach other or are not tangent to the peripheral wall.

These problems often occur in the wood industries where wood blocks needto be aligned and oriented for feeding wood working machines such asfinger jointers or scanning equipment, for instance.

Some methods have been tried to prevent the obstruction such as wipersor deflectors to wipe off any portion of the items that exceeds thethickness of the items being processed. However, these methods areinefficient for long items and items having a length dispersion, i.e.having non-uniform or random lengths.

Moreover, for some applications, it is desirable to have a predeterminedspacing between two consecutive aligned and oriented blocks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a feeder for aligning andorienting while reducing the obstruction of the discharge aperture ofthe feeder.

It is another object of the invention to provide a feeder having atleast one automated method for dislodging obstructing blocks from thedischarge aperture of the feeder.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a feeder incombination with a block spacer adapted to feed items with a spacingbetween two consecutive blocks and/or at a predetermined rate.

One object of the invention provides a feeder for orienting and aligningdisorderly incoming articles. The feeder comprises: a table having aperipheral wall, a rotary surface surrounded by the peripheral wall, anda discharge substantially tangential to the peripheral wall, thedischarge being sized to receive one article at a time from the rotarysurface in a predetermined orientation; and at least one pileeliminating member extending above the rotary surface and defining a gaptherewith, the gap being sized to solely permit passage ofnon-superposed articles laying in the predetermined orientation on therotary surface.

Another object of the invention provides a method for orienting andaligning disorderly incoming articles. The method comprises: feeding arotary surface with the articles; driving the rotary surface to carrythe articles to a discharge aperture defined in a peripheral wallsurrounding the rotary surface, the discharge aperture being configuredto only permit passage of one properly oriented article at a time;eliminating article piles or superposition on the rotary surfaceproximate to the peripheral wall; and individually withdrawing properlyoriented articles from the rotary surface through the dischargeaperture.

Another object of the invention provides a feeder for aligning andorienting disorderly incoming items. The feeder comprises: a tablehaving a peripheral wall, a rotary surface surrounded by the peripheralwall, and a discharge substantially tangential to the peripheral wall,the discharge being sized to receive one item at a time and in apredetermined orientation; and at least one a dislodging arm disposedproximate to the discharge, the dislodging arm being movable between aretracted position and an extended position, the dislodging arm, whendeployed to the extended position thereof, dislodging obstructing itemsfrom the discharge and pushing the items towards the center of therotary surface, away from the discharge, thereby permitting orienteditems to be received in the discharge to be withdrawn from the table.

Another object of the invention provides a method for orienting andaligning disorderly incoming items, comprising: feeding a rotary surfacehaving a first rotation direction with the items; driving the rotarysurface in rotation; aligning the items substantially tangential to awall disposed at the periphery of the rotary surface; withdrawing theitems aligned in a predetermined orientation from the rotary surfacethrough a discharge aperture in the peripheral wall; detecting apresence of an item in the discharge aperture; calculating a duration ofthe presence of the item at a predetermined location; comparing theduration to a threshold duration wherein the threshold duration is amaximum time of the presence of the item at the predetermined locationand after which the item is considered as obstructing the dischargeaperture; and extending an extendable arm through the dischargeaperture, if the calculated duration is longer than the thresholdduration, the extendable arm in the extended position abutting the itemobstructing the discharge aperture and pushing the item towards thecenter of the rotary surface, away from the discharge aperture.

Another object of the invention provides a feeder for orienting andaligning disorderly incoming articles in combination with an articlespacer for spacing the aligned and oriented articles. The feedercomprises: a table having a peripheral wall, a rotary surface surroundedby the peripheral wall, and a discharge substantially tangential to theperipheral wall, the discharge being sized to receive one article at atime from the rotary surface in a predetermined orientation; and a firstcarrier disposed proximate to the discharge, the first carrierwithdrawing, from the rotary surface, the articles introduced into thedischarge, the first carrier cooperating with the article spacer toprovide a distance between two consecutive articles withdrawn from thefeeder.

Another object of the invention provides an apparatus for aligning andspacing items. The apparatus comprises: a rotatable table having aperipheral wall and a discharge opening in the peripheral wall, thedischarge opening allowing the items in a predetermined orientation tobe successively withdrawn from the rotatable table in a single fileline, the rotatable table being fed with disorderly items; a firstcarrier disposed proximate to the discharge opening, the first carrierrecovering the oriented items exiting through the discharge opening; andan item spacer mounted proximate to the first carrier, the item spacerproviding a predetermined spacing between two consecutive orienteditems.

A further object of the invention provides a method for aligning andspacing items. The method comprises: feeding a rotary surface with theitems; driving the rotary surface in rotation; aligning the itemssubstantially tangential to a wall disposed at the periphery of therotary surface; withdrawing the items aligned in a predeterminedorientation from the rotary surface through a discharge aperture in theperipheral wall; carrying the items withdrawn from the dischargeaperture on a first carrier; and providing a spacing between twoconsecutive items withdrawn from the discharge aperture and carried bythe first carrier.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description, taken in combinationwith the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a feeder followed by a block spacer inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a frame for supporting a rotary surfacein accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view, fragmented and enlarged, of a dischargeaperture of the feeder shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view, fragmented and enlarged, of a longitudinalbrush conveyor extending over the rotary surface in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view, fragmented and enlarged, of a dislodgingarm of the feeder shown in FIG. 1, in the retracted position;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view, fragmented and enlarged, of the dislodgingarm shown in FIG. 6, in the extended position;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the block spacer shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the block spacer in accordance withanother embodiment of the invention, with feed rolls;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the feed rolls of the block spacer shownin FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a side elevation view of the feed rolls of the block spacershown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the block spacer in accordance withanother embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a barrier member of the block spacershown in FIG. 11; and

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the barrier member of the block spacershown in FIG. 11 with the barrier member abutting one block.

It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like featuresare identified by like reference numerals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings and, more particularly, to FIG. 1, thereis shown a disk singulator, a feeder or a feeding apparatus for aligningand orienting blocks 22. According to one embodiment of the presentinvention, the feeder is provided in the form of a turn table or rotarytable 20. The rotary table 20 includes a frame 26 with supporting wheels28 disposed at the periphery of the frame 26 and on which a rotarysurface 24 is rotatably disposed. Referring now to FIG. 2, it will beseen that the frame 26 includes an actuator 29, such as a gear motor,operatively connected to the rotary surface 24 for rotating the latter.One skilled in the art will appreciate that various types of actuatorscould be used to drive the rotary surface 24. For instance, it iscontemplated to use an hydraulic motor. The rotary surface 24 is fedwith the blocks 22, as will be described in more details below.

Referring back to FIG. 1, there is shown that the rotary surface 24 issurrounded by a peripheral wall 30, which is fixedly mounted to theframe 26. By rotating, the rotary surface 24, the blocks 22 aretransferred towards the peripheral wall 30 by centrifugal force. Theperipheral wall 30 guides the blocks 22 towards a discharge aperture 32,or block discharge. The shape and size of the discharge aperture 32permits only correctly oriented blocks 22 to pass one at a timetherethrough, or one block in a predetermined orientation.

A disorderly block feeder 44, such as a conveyor 45 or any other meansknown by those skilled in the art, feeds the rotary table 20 with theblocks 22. The disorderly block feeder 44 extends above the rotarysurface 24. The blocks 22 are fed randomly on the rotary table 20.

The rotary surface 24 is preferably substantially flat but it can alsoinclude a conical central member 46 for facilitating the transfer of theblocks 22 towards the peripheral wall 30, especially when the rotarysurface diameter is relatively important (typically above eight (8)feet).

The rotary surface 24 can preferably be rotated in both directions, aswill be described in more details below. However, for aligning andorienting the blocks 22, the rotary surface 24 is rotated in thedirection of the discharge aperture 32, represented by arrow 48.

Referring now to FIG. 3, it will be seen that the discharge aperture 32is substantially tangential to the peripheral wall 30 for withdrawingonly the blocks 22 oriented substantially tangential to the peripheralwall 30. A discharge track 34 is juxaposed to the discharge aperture 32for supporting the blocks 22 withdrawn from the rotary surface 24. Innerand outer guide members 36, 38 are mounted on each side of the dischargetrack 34 for guiding the blocks 22. The outer guide member 38 iscontiguous and tangential to the peripheral wall 30 on a first side ofthe discharge aperture 32. The inner guide member 36 is juxtaposed tothe peripheral wall 30 on the opposite side of the discharge aperture32. The discharge track 34 is followed by a first conveyor 42 (FIG. 1),as will be described in more details below.

For clarity, the blocks 22 will be characterized by a length, a width,and a thickness. The width of the blocks 22 corresponds substantially tothe width (or size) of the discharge aperture 32. When the blocks 22 arewithdrawn from the rotary table 20 in the predetermined orientation, thewidth of the blocks 22 is substantially parallel to the rotary surface24, i.e. one face of the block 22 lays on the rotary surface 24. Thethickness of the blocks 22 corresponds to the vertically extendingdimension when the blocks are withdrawn from the rotary table 20. Thelength of the blocks 22 is the remaining dimension and corresponds tothe dimension parallel to the first conveyor 42 when the blocks 22 aredisposed thereon. For blocks 22, the length is the longest dimension.The thickness is typically the shortest dimension.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, it will be seen that the rotary table 20also includes two overhead longitudinal brush conveyors 50 foreliminating block piles (FIG. 4) and reducing the probabilities ofobstruction of the discharge aperture 32. The brush conveyors 50 extendfrom the peripheral wall 30 above the rotary surface 24. The brushconveyors 50 include an endless belt covered with bristles sufficientlystiff for moving the blocks 22. The brush conveyors 50 preferably rotatein a direction for bringing the blocks 22 towards the center of therotary table 20, represented by arrow 51 (FIG. 3). One skilled in theart will appreciate that the rotary table 20 can include one or morelongitudinal brush conveyors 50. The brush conveyors 50 are disposedover the rotary surface 24 at a distance, or a gap, allowing onlynon-superposed blocks 22 to circulate between the brush conveyor 50 andthe rotary surface 24 in the orientation wherein the width of the block22 is substantially parallel to the rotary surface 24, i.e. the face ofthe block 22 is in contact with the rotary surface 24. The distancebetween the brush conveyor 50 and the rotary surface 24 is preferablyadjustable in accordance with the thickness of the blocks 22 beingaligned and oriented. The gap between the brush conveyor 50 and therotary surface 24 can also be adjusted to flip the blocks 22 that do nothave their face in contact with the rotary surface 24.

As shown in FIG. 3, the brush conveyors 50 can be mounted to the frame26 with L-shape supports 52 or any other appropriate supports.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, it will be seen that the rotary table 20 canalso include a rotary brush 53 that moves the blocks 22, which are notadequately aligned with the discharge aperture 32 and in thepredetermined orientation or not enough proximate to the peripheral wall30 away from the peripheral wall 30 to reduce the probabilities ofobstruction of the discharge aperture 32. The rotary brush 53 preferablyrotates in the direction of arrow 54 for propulsing away from theperipheral wall 30 the misaligned blocks 22.

The rotation axis of the rotary brush 53 shown in FIG. 3 issubstantially horizontal and parallel to the rotary surface 24. Oneskilled in the art will appreciate that the rotation axis of the rotarybrush 53 can also be in a substantially vertical orientation or anyother orientation.

The rotary brush 53 is mounted over the rotary surface 24 at a distanceshorter than the thickness of the blocks 22, proximate to the dischargeaperture 32, upstream therefrom. The rotary brush 53 is preferablymounted over the rotary surface 24 at a distance from the peripheralwall 30 allowing the blocks 22 in the predetermined orientation to passbetween the rotary brush 53 and the peripheral wall 30. The misalignedblocks 22 are moved away or displaced by the rotary brush 53 whichpushes them away from the discharge aperture 32 towards the center ofthe rotary surface 24.

The brush conveyors 50 are operatively connected to an actuator 55, suchas an electric motor, with a chain and sprocket assembly 56. The rotarybrush 53 mounted proximate to the discharge aperture 32 can beoperatively connected to the brush conveyors 50 mounted proximatethereto with a second chain and sprocket assembly 57. One skilled in theart will appreciate that other means can be used to transfer the motionbetween the actuator 55 and the brush conveyor 50 or between the brushconveyor 50 and the rotary brush 53 such as, without being limitative, abelt and pulley assembly.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that the brush conveyors 50 canbe replaced by any block pile eliminating member extending above therotary surface at a distance allowing one block having one face layingon or in contact with the rotary surface to circulate therebetween.

If one block 22 gets jammed into the discharge aperture 32, severalmechanisms can be used for dislodging the obstructing block 22 c.Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, it will be seen that the rotary table 20 caninclude a dislodging arm 60, or extendable arm, mounted proximate to theblock discharge aperture 32, the dislodging arm 60 being movable betweena retracted position (FIG. 5) and an extended position (FIG. 6) fordislodging the obstructing block 22 c from the discharge aperture 32 byapplying a force to the obstructing block 22 c in the extended position.The actuator 61 for moving the dislodging arm 60 between the extendedand retracted positions is preferably a linear actuator such as apneumatic cylinder or any other linear actuator those known to thoseskilled in the art. The dislodging arm 60 can include an impactingelement 63 such as a rod attached to the actuator 61.

In the retracted position, the dislodging arm 60 is preferablycompletely withdrawn from the rotary surface 24 and/or the dischargetrack 34 (FIG. 5) while in the extended position, at least a section ofthe dislodging arm 60 extends above the rotary surface 24 and abuts theobstructing block 22 c for removing the obstructing block 22 c from thedischarge aperture 32 and moving it towards the center of the rotarysurface 24 for being aligned (FIG. 6). As shown on FIGS. 5 and 6, thedislodging arm 60 is preferably mounted to the peripheral wall 30proximate to the outer guide member 38.

The rotary table 20 can also include at least one sensor 62 (not shown)conceived for detecting a presence of one block 22 proximate to or inthe discharge aperture 32 and a controller 66 (not shown) forcalculating a duration of the presence of the block 22 in the dischargeaperture 32. The duration of the presence of the block 22 in thedischarge aperture 32 is compared by the controller 66 to a thresholdduration. The threshold duration can be a maximum time of the presenceof the block 22 in the discharge aperture 32 if the block 22 is notobstructing the discharge aperture 32. If the calculated duration islonger than the threshold duration, the dislodging arm 60 is actuatedfor moving from the retracted position to the extended position forabutting the block 22 c obstructing the discharge aperture 32. Thesensor can be positioned to detect blocks in the discharge aperture 32,on the carrier 42 extending after the discharge aperture 32, before thedischarge aperture 32, or at any other appropriate location known to oneskilled in the art that allows the detection of the obstruction of thedischarge aperture 32. Once the obstructing block 22 c is removed fromthe discharge aperture 32, the dislodging arm 60 is retracted into theretracted position (FIG. 5).

A second mechanism for dislodging the obstructing block 22 includesrotating the rotary surface 24 in the opposite rotation direction. Asmentioned above, for aligning and widthdrawing the blocks 22 from therotary surface 24, the rotary surface 24 is rotated in the direction ofthe discharge aperture 32, represented by arrow 48, a first rotationdirection. The actuator 29 for rotating the rotary surface 24 ispreferably conceived for rotating the rotary surface 24 in bothdirections, the first rotation direction, represented by arrow 48, and asecond rotation direction, opposite to the first rotation direction.Therefore, if the block 22 obstructs the discharge aperture 32, therotation direction of the rotary surface 24 can be reversed for one of apredetermined time period and a predetermined rotation distancesufficient for dislodging the obstructing block 22. Thereafter, if theblock 22 has been dislodged from the discharge aperture 32, the rotationdirection of the rotary surface 24 is reversed and the rotary surface 24is rotated in the first rotation direction, represented by arrow 48.

The rotation speed of the rotary surface 24 in the second rotationdirection can be slower or similar.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that both dislodging mechanismsdescribed above can be combined for dislodging blocks 22 obstructing thedischarge aperture 32.

The discharge aperture 32 is juxtaposed to the discharge track 34, whichis followed by the first conveyor 42 which imparts to the blocks 22traveling thereon a first traveling speed. Once past the dischargeaperture 32, the aligned and oriented blocks 22 are queued waiting to befed to other machineries. If the oriented and aligned blocks 22 need tobe fed at a controlled rate and/or timing, several mechanisms, or blockspacers, can be used for providing the spacing or time interval betweentwo consecutive blocks 22.

Referring to FIG. 7, it will be seen one block spacer 68 for providingthe spacing or time interval between two consecutive blocks 22 a, 22 b.The first conveyor 42 is followed by a second conveyor 70 which impartsto the blocks 22 traveling thereon a second traveling speed. The blocks22 carried by the first conveyor 42 are transferred to the secondconveyor 70. The second traveling speed imparted by the second conveyor70 is faster than the first traveling speed imparted by the firstconveyor 42, thereby providing the spacing or the time interval betweenthe two consecutive blocks 22 a, 22 b. A bridging member 71 can beprovided between the two conveyors 42, 70 for providing a smoothtransfer of the blocks 22 from the first conveyor 42 to the secondconveyor 70.

If a predetermined spacing or time interval is required between the twoconsecutive blocks 22 a, 22 b, the block spacer 68 can include acontroller (not shown) for controlling the first and second travelingspeeds.

An overhead member 80 can be mounted over the conveying surface of thefirst conveyor 42. The overhead member 80 applies a small pressure onthe top surface of the blocks 22 for preventing the blocks 22 to flipupwardly if the number of blocks 22 withdrawn from the rotary table 20is too important relative to the capacity of the block spacer 68 and theblocks 22 apply a pressure on one another. In the embodiment of FIG. 7,the overhead member 80 includes a plurality of idle rollers or wheels 82press against the top surface of the blocks 22 carried by the firstconveyor 42. The wheels 82 could also be driven. The wheels 82 apply asmall pressure on the blocks 22 for transferring the traveling speed ofthe first conveyor 42 to the blocks 22 b.

Referring to FIG. 8, there is shown another block spacer 168 forproviding a spacing or time interval between two consecutive blocks 22a, 22 b. The features are numbered with reference numerals whichcorrespond to the reference numerals of the previous embodiment in the100 series. The block spacer 168 includes two feed rolls 178 having aconstant rotation speed. The feed rolls 178 convey the blocks 22 a, 22 bwithdrawn to a second conveyor (not shown) or directly to a processingapparatus (not shown) that needs to be fed with blocks 22 at intervals.The feed rolls 178 convey the blocks 22 at a faster speed that theconveying or traveling speed imparted by the first conveyor 42.

The block spacer 168 can also include a controller (not shown) forcontrolling the rotation speed of the feed rolls 178 and the conveyingspeed of the second conveyor, if any, for providing one of apredetermined distance and a predetermined time lapse between the twoconsecutive blocks 22 a, 22 b.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, it will be seen that the blocks 22 (FIG. 8)are conveyed between both feed rolls 178. The spacing between the feedrolls 178 is preferably adjusted in accordance with the thickness of theblocks 22 carried. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the blockspacer 168 can include only one feed roll 178 or one driven feed roll178 a and one idler feed roll 178 b. Preferably, the lower feed roll 178a is the driven roll and the upper feed roll 178 b is the idler roll butone skilled in the art will appreciate that both rolls 178 a, 178 b canbe driven rolls. The upper feed roll 178 b can have an adjustable heightin a manner such that a low pressure is applied to the blocks 22 carriedbetween the feed rolls 178.

Referring back to FIG. 8, it will be seen that, as for the block spacer68, the block spacer 168 can include a bridging member 71 between thefirst conveyor 42 and the feed rolls 178 for providing a smooth transferof the blocks 22 from the first conveyor 42 to the the feed rolls 178. Atop guard 180 is mounted over the first conveyor 42. The top guard 180is mounted above the blocks 22 conveyed by the first conveyor 42 anddoes not apply pressure on the blocks 22 carried by the conveyor 42 innormal operation. The top guard 180 is only abutted by the blocks 22when they begin to flip upwardly. The top guard 180 acts as a securitysystem.

The block spacer 168 shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 can be operated differentlywhile still providing a spacing or time interval between two consecutiveblocks 22 a, 22 b. The feed rolls 178 can be adapted to be in one of arotating state and a stationary state. The feed rolls 178 are in therotating state for conveying the blocks 22 to one of a second conveyor(not shown) or a processing apparatus (not shown) such as a fingerjointer. The feed rolls 178 are in the stationary state for distancingthe two consecutive blocks 22 a, 22 b. The relative duration of thestate of the feed rolls 178 determines the spacing between the twoconsecutive blocks 22 a, 22 b. A servo-motor or any other appropriateactuator known to one skilled in the art can be used to drive the feedrolls 178.

If a predetermined spacing or time interval is required between the twoconsecutive blocks 22 a, 22 b, the block spacer 168 can include acontroller (not shown) for controlling the state of the feed rolls 178.

Referring to FIGS. 11 to 13, it will be seen another block spacer 268for providing a spacing or time interval between two consecutive blocks22 a, 22 b. The features are numbered with reference numerals whichcorrespond to the reference numerals of the previous embodiments in the200 series. The first conveyor 42 is followed by a second conveyor 270.The block spacer 268 also includes a barrier member 284 disposed betweenthe first and the second conveyors 42, 270. The barrier member 284 ismovable between a closed position preventing the passage of the blocks22 from the first conveyor 42 to the second conveyor 270 and an openposition allowing the passage of the blocks 22 from the first conveyor42 to the second conveyor 270.

The barrier member 284 of the block spacer 268 has substantially aU-shape with a central member 286 and two legs 288 extending from arespective end of the central member 286. The free ends 290 of both legs288 are pivotally mounted two support members 291, disposed on arespective side of the second conveyor 270, however one skilled in theart will appreciate that they can be mounted on a respective side of thefirst conveyor 42. Two extendable arms 292, such as linear actuators,are secured on a respective leg 288, proximate to the junction with thecentral member 286. The extendable arms 292 move between an extendedposition wherein the barrier member 284 is in the open position and aretracted position wherein the barrier member 284 is in the closedposition. One skilled in the art will appreciate that any mechanismallowing the barrier member 284 to move between the open and the closedpositions can be used such as pneumatic cylinders, hydraulic cylinders,electric solenoids, cam, crankshaft, and the like. Only one extendablearm 292 can be used. Moreover, the structure of the barrier member 284and its mechanism can differ from the one shown in FIGS. 11 to 13 anddescribed above.

Two abutting wheels 294 are rotatably mounted to the central member 286of the barrier member 284. As shown on FIG. 13, the abutting wheels 294of the barrier member 284 abut the block 22 b being transferred from thefirst conveyor 42 to the second conveyor 270. The abutting wheels 294apply a small pressure on the block 22 b for transferring the speed ofthe second conveyor 270, which is faster than the speed of the firstconveyor 42, to the block 22 b. The small pressure applied by the wheels294 to the blocks 22 b closes the barrier member 284 closes when thewhole block 22 b is transferred to the second conveyor 270, therebypreventing the following block 22 to be transferred to the secondconveyor 270.

As for the previous block spacers 68, 168, the block spacer 168 caninclude a bridging member 271 between the first conveyor 42 and thesecond conveyor 270 for providing a smooth transfer of the blocks 22from the first conveyor 42 to the the second conveyor 270. An top guard280, similar to the top guard 180, is mounted over the first conveyor42.

The block spacer 268 can also include a controller (not shown) forcontrolling the movement of the barrier member 284 between the open andthe closed positions and/or the speed of the second conveyor 270 forproviding one of a predetermined distance and a predetermined time lapsebetween the two consecutive blocks 22 a, 22 b.

The combination of the rotary table 20 and the block spacers 68, 168,268 permits to orient and align elongaged blocks 22 from a disorderlysupply and to feed the oriented and aligned blocks 22 at controlledintervals to another processing apparatus such as a wood working machinesuch as finger jointers, a scanning equipment and the like.

The blocks 22 can be wood blocks, plastic blocks or any other blocksthat need to be oriented and aligned. The wood blocks can need to bealigned and oriented for feeding wood working machines such as fingerjointers or scanning equipment, for instance. The blocks 22 can beelongated blocks having preferably a length longer than the thicknessand the width. One skilled in the art will appreciate that short itemscan also be aligned and oriented with the above described apparatus.

The rotary table 20 and the block spacers 68, 168, 268 combined with themeans for disloging obtrusting blocks 22 from the discharge aperture 32are adapted for blocks having a random length distribution.

The feeder or the rotary table 20 described above allows to orient andaligned items having a length distribution. The probabilities of blockwedging at the dischage aperture 32 are reduced because the block pilesare destroyed upstream the discharge aperture 32 and the misalignedblocks are removed from the discharge aperture 32.

The blocks obtruct the discharge aperture 32, automated mechanisms areavailable for dislodging an obstruing block 22 from the dischargeaperture 32. Moreover, it is possible to automatically space consecutiveblocks 22 a, 22 b withdrawn from the rotary table 20.

In the wood industries, the aligned and oriented blocks 22 can betransferred or fed to wood working machines or scanning equipment, forinstance.

The feeder allows to achieve high feed rates with a minimum or no humanintervention.

The embodiments of the invention described above are intended to beexemplary only. One skilled in the art will appreciate that thedischarge aperture 32 can be directly followed by the first conveyor 42instead of being followed by the discharge track 34. One skilled in theart will appreciate that the first and second conveyors 42, 70, 270 canbe replaced by any appropriate block carrier. The scope of the inventionis therefore intended to be limited solely by the scope of the appendedclaims.

1. A feeder for orienting and aligning disorderly incoming articles incombination with an article spacer for spacing the aligned and orientedarticles, the feeder comprising: a table having a peripheral wall, arotary surface surrounded by the peripheral wall, and a dischargesubstantially tangential to the peripheral wall, the discharge beingsized to receive one article at a time from the rotary surface in apredetermined orientation; and a first carrier disposed proximate to thedischarge, the first carrier withdrawing, from the rotary surface, thearticles introduced into the discharge, the first carrier cooperatingwith the article spacer to provide a distance between two consecutivearticles withdrawn from the feeder.
 2. A combination as claimed in claim1, wherein the first carrier imparts a first traveling speed to thearticles and the article spacer comprises a second carrier extendingafter the first carrier, the second carrier imparting a second travelingspeed to the articles, the second traveling speed being faster than thefirst traveling speed for distancing the two consecutive articles.
 3. Acombination as claimed in claim 2, wherein at least one of the first andthe second carriers are conveyors.
 4. A combination as claimed in claim1, wherein the articles are elongated wood blocks with a lengthdistribution.
 5. A combination as claimed in claim 1, wherein the firstcarrier imparts a first traveling speed to the articles and the articlespacer comprises at least one feed roll extending after the firstcarrier, the at least one feed roll conveying the articles to one of asecond carrier and a processing apparatus, the at least one feed rollimparting a second traveling speed to the articles, the second speedbeing faster than the first traveling speed for distancing the twoconsecutive articles.
 6. A combination as claimed in claim 5, whereinthe at least one feed roll comprises a driven feed roll and an idlerfeed roll, the driven and idler feed rolls defining a gap therebetweenin which the articles circulate.
 7. A combination as claimed in claim 1,wherein the article spacer comprises at least one feed roll extendingafter the first carrier, the at least one feed roll being adapted to bein one of a rotating state and a stationary state, the at least one feedroll being in the rotating state for conveying one article to one of asecond carrier and a processing apparatus and being in the stationarystate for distancing the two consecutive articles.
 8. A combination asclaimed in claim 7, wherein the at least one feed roll comprises adriven feed roll and an idler feed roll, the driven and idler feed rollsdefining a gap therebetween in which the articles circulate.
 9. Acombination as claimed in claim 1, wherein the article spacer comprisesa second carrier extending after the first carrier; and a barrier memberdisposed between the first and the second carriers, the barrier memberbeing movable between a closed position preventing the passage of thearticles from the first carrier to the second carrier and an openposition allowing the passage of the articles from the first carrier tothe second carrier.
 10. An apparatus for aligning and spacing items,comprising: a rotatable table having a peripheral wall and a dischargeopening in the peripheral wall, the discharge opening allowing the itemsin a predetermined orientation to be successively withdrawn from therotatable table in a single file line, the rotatable table being fedwith disorderly items; a first carrier disposed proximate to thedischarge opening, the first carrier recovering the oriented itemsexiting through the discharge opening; and an item spacer mountedproximate to the first carrier, the item spacer providing apredetermined spacing between two consecutive oriented items.
 11. Anapparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first carrier imparts afirst traveling speed to the items and the item spacer comprises asecond carrier extending after the first carrier, the second carrierimparting a second traveling speed to the items, the second travelingspeed being faster than the first traveling speed for distancing the twoconsecutive items.
 12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 11, comprisingat least one controller controlling the first and second travelingspeeds for providing one of a predetermined distance and a predeterminedtime lapse between the two consecutive items.
 13. An apparatus asclaimed in claim 10, wherein the first carrier imparts a first travelingspeed to the items and the item spacer comprises at least one feed rollextending after the first carrier and conveying the items withdrawn toone of a second carrier and a processing apparatus, the at least onefeed roll imparting a second traveling speed to the items.
 14. Anapparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the item spacer comprises atleast one feed roll extending after the first carrier, the at least onefeed roll being in a rotating state for conveying one item to one of asecond carrier and a processing apparatus and the at least one feed rollbeing in the stationary state for distancing the two consecutive items.15. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the item spacercomprises a second carrier extending after the first carrier; and abarrier member disposed between the first and the second carriers, thebarrier member being movable between a closed position preventing thepassage of the items from the first carrier to the second carrier and anopen position allowing the passage of the items from the first carrierto the second carrier.
 16. An apparatus as claimed in claim 15,comprising at least one controller controlling the movement of thebarrier member between the open and the closed positions for providingone of a predetermined distance and a predetermined time lapse betweenthe two consecutive items.
 17. A method for aligning and spacing items,comprising: feeding a rotary surface with the items; driving the rotarysurface in rotation; aligning the items substantially tangential to awall disposed at the periphery of the rotary surface; withdrawing theitems aligned in a predetermined orientation from the rotary surfacethrough a discharge aperture in the peripheral wall; carrying the itemswithdrawn from the discharge aperture on a first carrier; and providinga spacing between two consecutive items withdrawn from the dischargeaperture and carried by the first carrier.
 18. A method as claimed inclaim 17, comprising transferring the items withdrawn to a secondcarrier extending after the first carrier, the first carrier imparting afirst traveling speed to the items, the second carrier imparting asecond traveling speed to the items, the second traveling speed beingfaster than the first traveling speed for spacing the two consecutiveitems.
 19. A method as claimed in claim 17, comprising transferring theitems to at least one feed roll extending after the first carrier, thefirst carrier imparting a first traveling speed to the items, the atleast one feed roll imparting a second traveling speed to the items, thesecond traveling speed imparted to the items by the at least one feedroll being faster than the first traveling speed imparted to the itemsby the first carrier for spacing the two consecutive items.
 20. A methodas claimed in claim 17, comprising conveying the items proximate to atleast one feed roll extending after the first carrier; rotating the atleast one feed roll for transferring the items to one of a secondcarrier and a processing apparatus extending after the at least one feedroll; and stopping the rotation of the least one feed roll for spacingthe two consecutive items.
 21. A method as claimed in claim 17,comprising opening a barrier member disposed between the first carrierand a second carrier extending after the first carrier for transferringthe items from the first carrier to the second carrier; and closing thebarrier member for preventing the passage of the items from the firstcarrier to the second carrier.
 22. A method as claimed in claim 21,comprising controlling the barrier member between the open and theclosed positions for providing one of a predetermined distance and apredetermined time lapse between the two consecutive items.